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Table of contents for The Record Contract
- The Record Contract; Part I: The Audition
- The Record Contract; Part II: The Callback
- The Record Contract; Part III: The Phone Call
- The Record Contract; Part IV: The Gathering
- The Record Contract; Part V: Getting To Know You
- The Record Contract; Part VI: Growing Closer
- The Record Contract; Part VII: Trouble in Paradise
- The Record Contract; Part VIII: Pressure Rising
- The Record Contract; Part IX: Decisions, Decisions
- The Record Contract; Part XI: Meanwhile
- The Record Contract; Part XII: The Studio
- The Record Contract; Part XIII: The Contract
- The Record Contract; Part XIV: Bonding
- The Record Contract; Part XV: A Response
- The Record Contract; Part XVI: Toni’s Party
- The Record Contract; Part XVII: Waiting Game
- The Record Contract; Part XVIII: The Hammer Falls
- The Record Contract; Part XIX: A Realization
- The Record Contract; Part XX: A Pinch of Insult
[For my newer readers, this post is the conclusion of a months-long series relaying the story of my record deal in Nashville back in 1996. You can start this story from the beginning, or catch up with any posts you may have missed by going to the Record Contract Index page. You will be able to navigate through the story from there.]
Unfortunately, the details about dinner with Paul Reubens are a bit fuzzy. Eight hours of margaritas during an extremely stressful day will do that to you. I have no idea what we ended up cooking, I only have whispers of memories of cooking a big pot of collard greens.
What I do remember is that Mr. Reubens is an incredibly nice and hysterically funny man. He is not at all like his Pee-Wee Herman character, except for that glimmer of mischief when he gets on a roll. He and Hoss didn’t know each other that well, but became friends after Hoss publicly supported Paul on the air during the “scandal” a few years earlier. I do remember him asking what my favorite Pee Wee Herman joke was, and I was too inebriated to know better, so I told him:
“Question: How do you know Pee Wee Herman is sitting behind you at a movie theater? Answer: The back of your neck is sticky.” He laughed and said, “I’m not that good of a shot.”
Hoss and I filled him and Mama Sharon in on the events of the day, and everyone took turns expressing their disgust at the way things had transpired.
Paul asked me what Delious had to say for himself. I told him that I hadn’t called him, I was too mad. He told me to call Delious right then and demand an explanation. Delious had promised that the contract would get fixed, and he failed to follow through, and now they had coerced the Oklahoma boys into signing the bad version, and he needed to answer for it.
He was right. I had to do it, and I was feeling no fear. I paged Delious from Hoss’s phone and waited for the phone to ring.
A few minutes later, Delious called. He was on conference with Jeff. I put him on speaker and Hoss, Mama Sharon, Paul and I sat in a circle around the phone.
Delious came on the line and the first thing he said was, “I can not believe you went to Atlantic behind my back.”
“Atlantic came to me, Delious. You told them that we had already signed the contracts and were ready to go. You told me that the contract was going to be fixed. You’ve done nothing but screw over everyone,” I snapped.
“It was still a shitty thing to do,” he said. “I don’t have to explain my actions to you. It’s my company.”
Jeff jumped in, “Good luck trying to find another record company that will give you even a second glance you fat piece of shit.”
“Excuse me!?” I think I hit an instant warp speed 9.
“We’re going to save a ton of money by replacing you, we won’t have to feed you or pay for the 15 hours a day of a personal trainer’s time,” he countered.
Delious laughed, “Too bad, Paul. You’re out of luck. Rip up the contract, we’re going to replace you with Stephen’s brother.”
“You know what, that’s fine. You’re going to find out that fucking people over in Nashville is going to bite you in the ass. Without me and Matt, your band is nothing more than two pretty faces and a effeminate tenor who’s too busy blowing you to sing a note.” I said.
Paul spoke up and said, “Hey guys, this is Paul Rubens. I’ve met some sleazy sacks of shit during my career, but you guys are the slimiest.” He slipped into character, “You know you guys are fucked when Pee Wee calls you sleazy. Heh Heh.”
Hoss hit the disconnect button.
It was over.
**************
Matt and I approached Al Cooley and Rick Blackburn sometime later. They were told by Atlantic Los Angeles that it would be a bad idea for them to offer us a deal because of the tension it would cause them with South 65 and Delious’s band ‘All-4-One.’ Al seemed to be very sorry about the whole situation.
South 65 released two albums, the first of which features my voice on two songs, “To Me” and “One of a Precious Few.” I am uncredited. I decided not to sue since the album bombed and I didn’t want my name to be further associated with the project. The second album, Dream Large, was virtually destroyed by critics, one review I recall called it “the worst thing to happen to country music since Hank died.”
While this is the conclusion of the “Record Contract Series,” I have more stories that evolve out of the events that I’ve talked about. Stay tuned for them.
15 Comments
“You know you guys are fucked when Pee Wee calls you sleazy. Heh Heh.”
LMAO
i hate this record contract story. i hate it because it is true and happened to you. there is no way that i can properly express how sorry i am that you had to deal with such a lying ass.
my favorite part is that on the worst day you were surrounded by good friends, margaritas and paul reubens. a good support system is key. and i can’t think of anyone else better than “pee wee herman” to help on such a day.
here’s a question, though. did you hurl after 8 hours of margaritas? hope it was good tequila…
[sending lots of x's and o's to you]
Neurotic Mom - That line became a running joke for a long time after that night.
Hello - Yes it was great that I had those friends around me. I don’t think I could have gotten through that mess otherwise. Sadly, I never got to hang out with Paul again. I managed to keep the tequila down, but only with the use of another substance known for its anti-nausea properties.
I have to say that I came across your website on accident and couldn’t help but read this story. It interested me for reasons I won’t disclose to you. But let’s just say, I know you are completely lying about South 65’s album featuring YOUR voice. Why the hell would you lie about something like that? I know you were involved in the group prior to them doing anything. And I’m sorry for everything you went through with those people, but I can’t believe you would try to pass off that voice as your own. You know it’s not you. I know exactly who’s singing on those tracks, and so do ALOT of his fans. You decided “not to sue”….good decision! You wouldn’t have gotten very far.
Very sad.
Angry - Thanks for visiting, even if it was just an accident. You are more than welcome to believe anything you wish. My voice absolutely appears on two tracks of that album. I have had this independently corroborated by someone directly involved in the making/production/distribution of the album. It is also apparent to anyone who has ever heard me sing.
The fact that you think you KNOW anything but refuse to disclose your identity leaves your comment lacking anything resembling authority or substance.
Whether or not I could have proven it in court, my bringing a lawsuit would have caused a lot of trouble for the two members of the band that I still considered friends.
So thanks for visiting, thanks for being “angry” about it… but now it’s time to go back to your bar in Austin and get drunk. Again.
Hello, I could not help but to respond to “angry’s” comment about your voice on the two songs on South 65’s first album. I wish your readers to know, that a Mother knows her children’s voices….like a shepard knows his sheep. I was very angry when I heard Paul’s (and Matt’s) voice on the album.. but then again PROUD that they were left on it. They were that good. There was NO TIME for their voices to have been edited from the album and the expense would have been way to costly to have done a retake of the two songs that were already recorded before the contracts were written and signed. The Cart was before the Horse.
Mom - There is always going to be someone who refuses to believe.
Thanks for the entertaining article. You should write a book. It certainly wouldn’t be fiction. I believe 99% of what you have written is true and 99% of what DK responded with is also true. I’m curious about only one thing though. If it’s your voice on that South 65 CD, why do you and Stephen Parker sound so much alike? I’ve listened to that CD more than I’d like to admit and it sounds like the same voice on “To Me” as on “Random Act” which Parker sang. And I’m sure that Mrs Parker knows her son’s voice also. Could you clarify this for me? And if you were replaced by Stephen’s brother in the group, who replaced Matt? There were still five guys on the CD cover.
PS. I am also a big Toni Wine fan even if I didn’t realize who she was before your website.
Nobody - Thanks for visiting! Stephen’s upper register sounded quite a bit like mine. Our ranges were similar. The idea was that there would always be one of us available to sing the high harmony part regardless of who was singing lead. Compare them under headphones and really listening you will be able to tell the difference.
Lance Leslie replaced Matt.
Toni Wine is an amazing artist and person!
Ok, be as mad as you want, but I have sat down for the first time and FINALLY read this series in it’s entirety. I also admit that before, when a new post in this series would come up, I would skip over it in my rush to see what all I had missed since being able to visit your site the last time. In my own defense, I had a good feeling that this was going to be an extra long series and my thought process was that I would wait until you were finished in order to read it straight through. Don’t ask what I’ve been doing since March 7th, you won’t like the answer.
With that out of the way, I’M SORRY! I know and remember all too vividly your passion for music and entertainment. I can’t imagine having that taken away from you in this way. You deserve so much more than that. I know that you already know this, but I’m sure it also helps to hear it from someone who knew you at that time (or shortly before that anyway). I can remember when we went to the radio station and I got to meet the DJ you spoke of. I remember the way your eyes would light up like Britney Spears at a crack house when the smallest things fascinated you at the station. To be able to get that close to your dream, lose the job of a lifetime, and then have to work backwards towards that same dream, is heartbreaking and I’m sorry. I wish things could have worked out differently for you, not in your personal life, but your professional. You have the talent, education, and experience to share your gift with many people, and I just feel blessed to have been able to hear that gift a few times not only in public, but more importantly [to me anyway...and who cares about anyone else(besides UMB of course...I love you both)] in private. From Total Eclipse, to Someone Elses Star, the whole damn Alanis album, the many many other songs you allowed me to sing off-key and out of tune, and explaining the difference of a 45 and a 33, THANK YOU!
Toby - I’m not mad. It’s a lot to read.
And thank you.
I just read through the whole series, and wow, what a great set of articles. Reading all of the makes me glad that I abruptly quit my attempts at having a career in the music industry. Today, my music is just for me, and a select few friends, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But I still get a bit angry when I read stories like this, and think of my friends that were run through the music industry grist mill.
Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog, and am looking forward to checking more of it out, and that’s saying a lot, because I only read one other blog on a regular basis. Keep up the great work!
Eric
Eric - Welcome! Thanks for the kind words. I think a “grist mill” is a pretty accurate description of the music industry. Hope to see you around again!
Hi Jester - read the story with interest and a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach - why is it that this industry is full of the biggest assholes on the planet - it is so demoralizing. We are going through the process of breaking the “booking” ceiling at the moment and its no fun we’re working with a Lady, Liz Gregory - wonder if you know of her? - with any luck - we might actually get to play a gig soon!
Anyway - thanks for sharing the experience - I wish you all the very best,
Andrew
Andrew’s last blog post…Ain’t No Sunshine
Andrew - Thanks for dropping by! I can’t believe you read it all in one sitting. ;D Keep me informed on the Liz Gregory project.
One Trackback
[...] Well, you may recall that my memories of Paul have all been filtered through the haze of a long day of margaritas and other mind-altering substances… that being said, he was incredibly nice. He was a bit quieter than I imagined him to be. He was witty and laughed long and hard even at his own expense. Really what I remember most of all from that night was laughing until my stomach hurt. And of course his very cool response to Delious. [...]